Millions of toxic toys recalled: The nightmarish reality of global capitalism

The company and the media are going to considerable lengths to downplay the incident and minimize the risks involved, but the conditions exist for a potential human disaster. Millions of the toys have already been sold. The magnetic toys were sold before January 2007 and had been produced since 2002. Some of the lead-painted toys have been sold this summer. No one has any idea what damage has already been done. Many of the toys will never be retrieved.

Parents by the thousands around the US have already lined up at clinics organized by local health departments to have their young children tested for lead poisoning. A 35-year-old mother of two, waiting on line in the Indianapolis area, told the Indianapolis Star, “We have enough to think about as it is with so much that is going on in the world. ... The kids just deserve to have fun and play and be oblivious to the dangers and things that are going on. I think it’s unfortunate that the kids have been pulled in to the same worries that the parents have.”

Lead paint, even in small amounts, poses dangers for children. A spokeswoman at the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Bernadette Burden, explained to the media, “There is no acceptable level of lead exposure for a child.”

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